Not Going Anywhere
by MakorraLove97
Summary: After a mission, Natasha has immediate surgery and Clint isn't sure she's going to make it. He's badly injured himself, but he refuses to be treated until he is certain his partner is okay. There are complications during the surgery & Clint's scared he's going to lose the woman he loves. The doctor tries to get him out of the room, but he makes it clear he's not going go anywhere.


**Hi guys, how are you doing? This is a one-shot I decided to write when the idea randomly came to mind, I really hope you like it! (Only rated T because of minor language, nothing too bad.)**

_**Please do let me know what you think of it; that would mean so much to me, thanks! :)**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.**

"_Not Going Anywhere_"

**. . .**

Red streaks of blood drips down the side of Clint's face as he slips in and out of consciousness. He tries his hardest to stay awake as he holds his partner in his strong embrace.

He keeps his eyes fixated on Natasha, as she lies unconscious in his arms. He could no longer see the color of her skin as it is painted in a thick red coat of her own blood. Her hair is knotted and messy and her clothes are torn completely.

They're both in the jet and being taken back to headquarters where they could get medical attention immediately. After their mission in Argentina, the two agents were left brutally beaten and barely alive. They, somehow, managed to get the mission completed, but at this point, the cost of that might be their own lives.

Clint's clothes are drenched in a mixture of his own blood and hers, but none of that matters to him. The only thing that he is worrying about is Natasha and if she is going to make it. She took the worst of the hit when the bomb exploded in the warehouse they were in, but that doesn't mean he didn't get badly injured himself.

The jet landed and the agents that were on the jet with him and Natasha instantly began to help them out and take them to get medical attention. As soon as they landed, SHIELD'S top doctor, Doctor Olivia Palmer, came rushing out with a stretcher and three nurses behind her.

Doctor Palmer went straight up to Natasha and tried to take her from Clint's arms, but he refused. He shook his head, barely aware of what was even going on. All he knew is that someone was trying to take his partner out of his arms and he wouldn't allow it.

Clint wobbles, unable to keep his balance as his head throbs in pain. His muscles ache and his body is so close to just shutting down and letting him collapse onto the ground. He shakes his head, managing to say through clenched teeth, "No… leave her."

"Agent Barton, we need you to let her go so we could attend her injuries immediately. You need to be checked out yourself, Agent." Palmer says in a calm, stern voice. "Everything will be okay. I will make sure she makes it, but in order to do that, I need you to release her now."

Clint stares down at his partner; the woman he fell in love. He couldn't let her die, she can't let her leave the world- leave _him_. He needs her. He slowly looks back up at the doctor, knowing she is right. He's scared to see them take Natasha away from him; she could die in the operating room. This could be his last chance seeing her.

"Agent Barton," Palmer says in a little bit of a demanding tone, "we need to prep her for surgery, _now_." Palmer's emerald eyes are staring at Clint, waiting to see if he will finally listen and place Natasha on the stretcher. She can't afford to waste time and even though she would hate to have other agents rip Natasha out of his arms, she will do it if Clint won't voluntarily do it.

Clint swallows hard and blinks his eyes hard, trying to regain his vision as it begins to blur. He sighs and slowly walks over to the stretcher and places her down on it. He then watches Palmer and the nurses wheel her instantly back inside.

He wants to just fall to his knees and fall into oblivion, but he stops himself from doing so. He needs to see Natasha; he can't fall into exhaustion until he is assured she will be just fine.

Clint forces himself to place one foot in front of the other as he heads straight inside to check on Natasha. Agents that he passed tried to stop him, telling him he needed to be treated, but he refuses to listen to anyone. He wants to make sure Natasha doesn't die on him and if that means he heads up dying because of his own injuries, then so be it.

Agent Barton limps into the prep room, watching as they get Natasha ready for surgery and the nurses and Doctor Palmer gets ready herself for the procedure. He licks his dried lips as he limps over to Natasha's bed and his bloody hand grabs her cold one.

"I'm here, Natasha. I'm not going anywhere, not without you." He says quietly as his legs start to give out underneath him. He groans as he falls to his knees, but he clenches his teeth together as he tries his hardest to ignore the throbbing pain.

"Agent Barton!" Doctor Palmer yells, "What are you doing? I'm going to get you another doctor to check you out while I'm taking care of Natasha-"

"No," He cuts her off, his eyes remaining on Natasha's pale and bloody face, "I'm not going anywhere until I know she's going to be okay. You want to drag me out, go on ahead, but I'm not leaving her side without a fight."

The Doctor sighs and shakes her head, a small smile resting on her lips, "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you when you're complaining about the pain later, okay?"

"As long as she's okay, I'll be fine." He says over his shoulder as he rests his forehead on her knuckles. "Please be okay."

He glances around the room to see all the nurses and Doctor Palmer getting ready for the surgery, none of them paying attention to him. He looks back at Natasha and swallows the lump that's stuck in his throat. "Nat, if you don't pull through… I don't know what I'm going to do. Please… please don't leave me. Don't you dare die on that operating table." He plants a soft kiss on her hand and squeezes it, "I love you, Nat. Come back to me, alright? I'm not going anywhere… I'll be right here when you wake up from surgery. I promise."

"Agent," Palmer's voice interrupts him, "we need to get her in the O.R. right now." She pulls on her surgical gloves and nods at him, "Don't worry, Agent, I won't allow her to die on that table; it's not going to happen."

Clint stares at the Doctor, searching her eyes to see if there is any sight of worry or uncertainty, there was none. He goes to say something to her, but suddenly Natasha's heart rate drops.

Palmer's eyes widen, "We're losing her. We need to get her into surgery, _now_. Let's go!" Two nurses push Clint out of their way and instantly wheel Natasha straight to the operating room.

Clint watches in horror and Palmer turns to face him, "You can't come in when we're operating. Trust me, Barton, she's not going anywhere." She seems confident, but Clint isn't fully convinced everything will be okay. "I'll stay out of the way."

Palmer shakes her head, "I'm sorry, but no. Stay here and don't move. Another doctor should be coming in to check on you." Then with that, she turns on her heels and rushes into the operating room to see if she could save Natasha Romanoff's life.

Clint's vision begins to blacken as exhaustion tries to consume him. He leans against the wall, trying to fight the urge to fall flat on his face. He needs to know his partner's okay and not dying on the table right now. His head is throbbing and making the world around him spin.

He wobbles as he limps towards the operating room; he can't hold his balance. He's so weak and worn out, his weight is too heavy for him right now. He uses the wall to help him walk, leaving blood stains on the white wall while he does so.

Another doctor walks into the room and gasps as he watches Clint drag himself towards the operating room. He tries to say something, but one death glare from Clint told him to be quiet and leave him alone. The doctor knows how strong Agent Barton is and he isn't going to risk getting on the man's bad side. Even with Clint hurt, he could still manage to take down any threat with one hand.

Clint makes it into the operation room and Palmer almost throws the surgical scissors she is holding at the man. She knew he would try to come in here; something could stop this Agent when he's determined to do something.

She shakes her head and nods her head, "Stay out of the way, Barton. You come near this table and I'll make sure you get put under and you'll wake up days later."

Clint raises an eyebrow at the Doctor, but says nothing; he just nods his head and stays in the corner of the room. He leans his back against the wall and tries his hardest to remain standing. He feels so weak, he could collapse any second, but he is using all the strength he has left to keep himself standing and awake.

He watches Doctor Palmer operate on Natasha; there is so much blood. The nurses, doctor, and Natasha are all drenched in her blood; it makes his stomach twist into knocks. He looks away from the blood and keeps his eyes fixated on Natasha's face.

He really loves her.

Clint could feel the tears forming in his eyes as he thinks about how close she is to death; she's on the thin line between living and dying right now. He could lose her at any second. He holds back the threatening tears, but his heart is shattering as he watches Palmer cut her open and work on Natasha's internal damage.

It seemed forever, the surgery, but after countless times of Natasha's heart giving out, the surgery was finally completed. Natasha was finally stable and she should be making a full recovery.

Clint smiles at Palmer's words, but before he could say anything, he falls to his knees and then lands on cold tile ground on his side. His eyes look up to see Natasha's face that is starting to regain its color and then with that, his eyes close and he falls into darkness.

**. . .**

The sun's bright light is shining through the window and hitting Clint's face. He groans and turns his head slightly to the side so the light could not hit his eyes.

Clint's eyebrows slowly knit together as he feels a soft bed underneath him. His fists clench at his sides as his head begins to throb in pain. He feels so dizzy and out of it; he can't remember anything that happened prior to him passing out and giving in to exhaustion.

With much effort, he forces his eyes open and he blinks a few times as his eyes try to readjust to the light. He hears a soft laughter, which confuses him. He recognizes the familiar sound of the laughter, which only confuses him more.

His head slowly turns to see another hospital bed parallel to his bed. He blinks his eyes a few more times to get rid of the blurriness and he looks at who is lying on the bed.

There lying on the hospital bed is revealed to be the one and only: his partner. Natasha smiles at him and waves her hand, "Hi there."

He just stares at her, not knowing what to say or what to do. He shakes his head, not understanding. His throat is dry and as he tries to talk, nothing comes out. He clears his throat, but it's hard for him to say anything. "…-Tasha?"

She smiles and nods her head slowly, "That'd be me." She leans her head back on the pillow as she lays on her side so she can face him. "How are you feeling, Clint?"

"Mmm," He moans. He's tried and dizzy. "You're… y-you're o-okay?"

Natasha nods her head, "Yeah, Palmer took care of me. It's been three days since my surgery and she told you stayed by my side the entire time. She said you told her and everyone else you weren't going anywhere until you knew for sure I was okay."

His eyes widen at first when his partner tell him it's been three days since her surgery. He's been out unconscious for three days? Palmer must have done that on purpose for not listening to her and being a pain in the ass for her.

A small grin breaks along his face as he starts to remember how pissed Palmer was at him for not listening to her. She told him to stay, he didn't listen. She told him to be treated while she took care of Natasha, he didn't listen. When she told him to stay out of her way or he'd be sure to regret it later, well, he did decide to listen there.

"Yeah…" He says in a quiet voice, "I w-wanted to m… make sure you were o-okay." He manages a crooked smile, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Clint," Natasha says in a soft, quiet voice, "thank you for saving me back there. When that bomb went off… you made sure I got out. I was stuck under those rocks and I was barely conscious, but you saved me. Thanks."

"That's what partners are for… and what _boyfriends_ are for too." He says with a grin as his eyes start to flutter close.

Natasha smiles and could see how he's trying to stay awake. He's fighting the urge to fall asleep, but she knows he needs his rest. "Clint, go ahead. Get some rest. You need it and so do I, according to Palmer."

"You definitely don't want to argue with her." He jokes, "She'll threaten to throw surgical scissors at you."

Natasha laughs and shakes her head, "Not going to ask."

Clint smiles, but he still doesn't want to go to sleep. He wants to watch over Natasha and just be assured she isn't going nowhere. He is scared to lose her; not when he already came so close to losing her.

Natasha could see how he's hesitate to go to sleep. She notices how he is trying to fight his way to stay awake, but if he wants to recover, he needs the rest. She stretches out her hand over to him and he gently takes it, holding it in his. She smiles at him and quietly whispers to him, "I love you, Agent Barton."

He can't help, but allow the corners of his lips to twitch up into a smile. "I love you too, Nat."

"Now, get some sleep," She says with a small smile, "don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
